Footsteps of Time
by phoenixtears07
Summary: AU. A few hundred years after his death, Giotto finds himself reincarnated as Sawada Tsunayoshi and discovers second chances as he is reunited with his past Guardians.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Footsteps of Time

Pairing: None

Genre: Humor, Family, Friendship

Warnings: mentions of violence

Rating: K+

Summary: A few hundred years after his death, Giotto finds himself reincarnated as Sawada Tsunayoshi and discovers second chances as he is reunited with his past Guardians.

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or its characters.

~X~

Sawada Tsunayoshi was a very bright boy.

At the tender young age of six, little Tsuna could read Shakespeare and actually understand it. After sneaking into a high school and snitching a college level textbook from some teacher's office, he deemed Calculus a piece of cake. After sneaking back into that poor teacher's office and stealing several other complicated-looking textbooks, a few more subjects were tossed into the growing pile in the back of his closet.

Even so, Tsuna's grades in Namimori Elementary were borderline failing.

It wasn't that he couldn't do the work; Tsuna just didn't want to stand out.

After all, who would look at the little wimpy brunette boy – who constantly tripped over his own feet and could barely do simple math – and see him as anything but a failure doomed to grow up and drag society down with his incompetence.

No one would ever believe that No-Good Tsuna was actually the reincarnation of the founder of the most influential Mafia Family in the underground criminal world. Physical similarities aside, his façade of a clumsy, academically-challenged child assured that no one would give him anything more than a passing glance.

He _really_ didn't want anyone to give him a second look.

It may have just been excessive paranoia on his part, but Tsuna wanted to play on the safe side until he could properly defend himself just in case news of his existence reached the ears of any unsavory characters.

Sighing softly, Tsuna's thoughts sullenly drifted to his Guardians – well, former Guardians now – as he aimlessly walked around the neighborhood. He missed them all terribly – even Daemon – and wondered if they had been reincarnated in this time as well.

What he wouldn't give to have G scolding him for doing something reckless again, or hear Asari play his flute. He wouldn't mind sitting through more of Knuckle's enthusiastic preaching, or listen to Lampo complain about every little thing being unfit for a Lord's son. Hell, he wouldn't even mind hearing Daemon's signature creepy laugh again. Ah, good times…

And, Alaude…the former policeman who had reluctantly left France to become a…uh…an _ally_ of the Vongola Family. The stubborn man who had formed the CEDEF group as his own way of distancing himself from the Family without actually leaving.

The man who…now looked like a kid and seemed to be happily beating up a few bigger kids…

Tsuna stopped in his tracks when he saw the spectacle. On any other day, he might have found the sight of a small, slender kid beating the crap out of other kids nearly twice his size without breaking a sweat rather amusing, but…

Wanting a better look, he jumped and swung himself onto a nearby tree branch.

No, wait… now that Tsuna had situated himself at a good vantage point to watch the proceedings, he realized it really _was_ an amusing sight.

Amusing and a little sad if he thought about it.

At this angle, Tsuna couldn't tell what weapon the mini black-haired Alaude wielded – something metal if the sunlight occasionally reflecting off the surface was anything to go by – but it must have been blunt since most of the hits didn't leave any open wounds. Even so, he could tell that those bigger kids would be black and blue later.

Now at this point, Tsuna's conscience began prodding at him to intervene before mini Alaude killed those children, but at the same time, he also had to take into consideration his mere six years of age and his little goal of staying below the radar. So, Tsuna was forced to choose between saving those kids and his own self-preservation.

Four hundred years ago as Giotto, he would have chosen to interfere in a heartbeat and self-preservation be damned.

But now as Tsunayoshi, he wasn't quite as gallant as he had been all those years ago. Now, he didn't have his Guardians to back him up should he recklessly throw himself into a mess too big to take on himself. He also had his mother, Nana, to consider and her feelings should something happen to him.

And even if this black-haired kid was not Alaude's reincarnation, it was obvious the boy had a violent streak a mile wide and Tsuna wouldn't be able to properly defend himself against metal weapons.

So, there was only one thing he _could_ do.

Tsuna nimbly hopped down from his perch and turned his back on the messy, violent scene. Ten seconds later, he whipped back around and hurled a pebble at the black-haired boy before smirking proudly at his accurate aim.

Then, he realized that now would be an excellent time to run away when the violent boy glared at him with a little trail of blood trickling from the new cut on his temple.

In his six short years of life, Tsuna had never before had to run that far or that fast. Five minutes into the chase, he admitted to himself that his _brilliant_ plan had spectacularly backfired on him. He could barely get enough oxygen into his lungs while the black-haired boy didn't seem to be tiring out at all.

Two minutes after that, life decided to become a huge cliché.

In chase scenes – much like the one Tsuna was currently engaged in – the victim would run around without a clue of where to go before ducking into an alley and suddenly finding him or herself backed up into a dead end, at which point the serial killer or what-have-you stalked forward with weapon in hand to finish up the scene.

Something somewhat similar decided to happen to Tsuna.

In his growing exhaustion and panic, Tsuna ducked into a convenient alley before he made his biggest mistake. He looked back.

And promptly ran into a brick wall.

And if that hadn't been pathetic enough, he also burst into tears from the pain.

Later, Tsuna would attribute that…momentary lapse of self-control to his youth. Sure, he could solve a complicated Calculus problem in under two minutes, but he was still physically six years old. It was only natural for a six year old to cry if he ran into a wall. At least, that was his story and Tsuna was sticking to it no matter what anyone else had to say about the matter.

Unfortunately, his little dilemma didn't really matter to the mini-Alaude, who was stalking forward with metal weapons in hand.

Tsuna nervously watched as the boy raised the weapon and prepared to swing. Clenching his eyes shut in preparation for pain, he reflexively blurted out, "I'm sorry, Alaude, please forgive me!"

A few seconds passed somewhat pain free – as he was still smarting a little from the run in with the wall earlier – so Tsuna hesitantly peeked out from under his lashes to see what the delay was about.

The mini-Alaude seemed frozen in place. After a few seconds, the dark-haired boy cautiously lowered his weapons before lowly whispering, "What did you call me?"

"Uhh…Alaude?" Tsuna's hyper intuition flared. "You're Alaude, right? Y-You've been reincarnated, too?"

They silently stared at each other for several minutes.

During that time, the dark-haired boy managed to shake off the initial shock, and a contemplative look crossed his face as he internally debated about what to do. Nodding to himself after coming to a conclusion, the boy raised his weapons again and answered rather decisively, "No, I'm not."

Tsuna's life, both his past and present lives, flashed before his eyes as the dark-haired boy – whom Tsuna was quite convinced was his former Cloud Guardian by now – once again fell into an offensive stance.

~X~

A few hours later found Nana cheerfully serving snacks to Tsuna and his new friend, who had introduced himself as Hibari Kyouya.

The brunet patiently waited until his mother was completely out of sight before groaning and rubbing at the new bruises hidden beneath his clothing. "Did you really have to hit so hard, Alaude?"

"Stop using that name, herbivore."

"Oh, sorry, Kyouya. Anyway, why am I classified as an herbivore?"

"Because you complain like one. Now, shut up so I can enjoy my tea in silence or else I'll bite you to death."

"Right." Tsuna sighed and dejectedly let his head fall forward onto the low table. "Of course."

It hadn't exactly been the touching reunion Tsuna had been hoping for, but he supposed it was the best he was ever going to get from his Cloud Guardian.

~X~

A/N: **Conanfan15**, here's the first chapter I promised you~ I'm sorry for the horrible ending but I suppose it was…happy-ish…in a way (well, as happy as Alaude/Hibari could get).


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Footsteps of Time

Pairing: None

Genre: Humor, Family, Friendship

Warnings: mentions of violence

Rating: K+

Summary: A few hundred years after his death, Giotto finds himself reincarnated as Sawada Tsunayoshi and discovers second chances as he is reunited with his past Guardians.

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or its characters.

~X~

**1.**

It was a bright, cheerful Tuesday afternoon – during Kyouya's daily patrol around the neighborhood – when Tsuna finally gathered up the courage to ask the question that had been bothering him ever since his painful reunion with the former Cloud Guardian. "Hey, Kyouya, I've been wondering…whatever happened to fighting with handcuffs?"

"…"

"Kyouya?" Tsuna pouted when Kyouya blatantly ignored him and continued on with his self-imposed duty. Not wanting to give up without a fight, Tsuna ran forward and purposefully skidded to a stop right in front of the older boy, forcing Kyouya to halt in his tracks.

"What are you doing, herbivore?" The black-haired boy wanted to be on his way, but stubborn pride wouldn't allow him to step around the smaller brunet, former boss or not. "Move or I'll bite you to death."

Tsuna proved to be just as stubborn and glared back as much as his cute six-year-old face would allow. "I'll move if you tell me why you've stopped using handcuffs."

The standoff lasted nearly five minutes before Kyouya growled, "I'll tell you if you let me bite you to death."

"Huh?" Tsuna let that process for a moment before flat-out rejecting. "How am I going to explain the injuries to my mother?"

"Just say you tripped over your own feet, like some useless herbivore, and fell down a long stairway…with spikes at the bottom."

"What?" Tsuna gaped a bit before screaming, "_how badly were you planning on beating me?_"

Kyouya scowled at the loud volume. "I'll beat you until you show me your fangs. If you want to survive then use your flames. I want to fight you at your best."

The brunet slumped slightly. "I can't."

"What?"

"I tried to summon my flames but nothing happened. Maybe I'm still too young, or I don't have Sky flames anymore." Tsuna huffed at the irritation on Kyouya's face. "Does it really matter? I am _not_ the leader of a vigilante group. I am _not_ Giotto. I'm just Sawada Tsunayoshi.

"It's for the best, isn't it, Kyouya?" Tsuna stared down at his small, bare hands and remembered a different pair of gloved hands, wreathed in orange flames that burned brightly with the resolve to protect. "I'm not like you. I've never liked fighting. And now that I don't have flames to call upon, maybe it's because I no longer have a reason to fight."

Kyouya scoffed, "How weak."

"It's fine though, right? I'm no longer affiliated with Vongola, so I don't need to be strong anymore." Tsuna shook his head and smiled. "Anyway, you never answered my question. What happened to using handcuffs? Your father is the police chief, isn't he?"

"Hmph." The black-haired boy looked away but allowed the sudden topic change. "…My father refused to give me handcuffs since he deemed them inappropriate."

"…So…he…got you a pair of blunt metal weapons instead?"

"Yes."

"I'm not quite following the logic of that."

Kyouya scoffed, "I can't be bothered to understand the logic of herbivores." He paused. "Although…it might be connected to a particular incident where I cuffed him to the towel rack, threw the key out the window and forgot about him for an entire day."

"Ah…should I ask why?"

"No."

Some things, Tsuna mused, were better left unknown. "Alright."

~X~

**2.**

Tsuna glanced back and forth between Kyouya – who was leaning against the wall next to him – and the ragtag group of beaten teenage delinquents kneeling in front of them. "Uhh…what's going on, Kyouya? Who are these people?"

"My new minions."

"Oh…" Tsuna sweatdropped. _Minions_? "I thought you hated crowding."

"Hn." The black-haired boy considered it for a moment before glaring at the group. "You're crowding. If you do not vacate the premises within three seconds, I'll bite you all to death."

Tsuna had never seen a group of people disappear so quickly…no, there was that time in Turin…and Palermo…and Milan…

The brunet stopped his thoughts there before his mind started listing every single place his Guardians' decided to go wild in and calculating the amount of money he had spent on just the repair bills. Tsuna shuddered a little and turned back to the original topic. "Do you really need minions, Kyouya?"

"They're members of the Namimori Middle School Disciplinary Committee."

"Huh, I never knew Namimori Middle had a Disciplinary Committee. Is it new?"

"Yes. I observed the lack of discipline within the educational facility and determined that prefects would be necessary to maintain order. Since it would be troublesome to have to deal with the herbivores myself, I…_recruited_ some minions and created the Committee."

"But, you just start middle school a few days ago." Tsuna didn't want to think of what that slight pause implied.

"So what, herbivore?"

"So…" The brunet suddenly decided now was a really good time to stop questioning the older boy since it seemed the tonfas were about to make an appearance. "Good luck?"

"Hn."

It wasn't until later when Tsuna was relaxing in his room that the thought occurred to him. "Oh, _Dio_, it's the CEDEF all over again."

~X~

**3.**

Tsuna panted heavily from his position behind some trashcans, nervously glancing around every few seconds. He froze when the black-haired boy stalked into view, looking around with sharp menacing eyes and…

_Is…is Kyouya sniffing?_ Tsuna leaned forward to get a better look._ Oh dear God, he is. What do I do? What if he's really following my scent? Actually, what kind of nose do you have, Kyouya? Are you part animal?_

The older boy walked out of view. When a few minutes passed without any sign of a bloodthirsty skylark returning, the brunet let out a relieved breath and silently reprimanded himself for getting into the situation in the first place.

It had been a playful jab on the younger boy's part that led to Kyouya hunting him down in this scarily violent game of cat and mouse. Tsuna had been feeling relaxed around the older boy lately since Kyouya hadn't pulled out the tonfas in a while and he had even tolerated a little crowding to show Tsuna his new committee of…minions. Well, a bit of talking later, the brunet playfully joked that Kyouya couldn't really bite people to death since he didn't have sharp teeth.

How was he supposed to know that Kyouya would vanish for a week only to reappear with upgraded tonfas, now sporting retractable spikes?

Tsuna felt a shiver slid up his spine when a dark aura suddenly appeared behind him.

"Found you, herbivore."

The brunet slowly turned his head and whimpered when he saw the sinister smirk on Kyouya's face.

The older boy raised his tonfas, letting the sunlight reflect off the many spikes. "I'll _properly_ bite you to death this time."

That night, Tsuna was sprawled over his bed, groaning and nursing his many bruises yet still thankful that Kyouya had retracted the spikes at the last second.

Sitting through dinner with a smile in place had been pure torture. Thankfully, his mother didn't look suspicious at all.

Tsuna mentally cried a waterfall of tears. _Kyouya didn't have to hit me so many times._ _Where's G when I need him? No…wait…G would only get angry and make things worse…like the time we first met Alaude in France_…

The memory of guns and handcuffs and a completely collapsed building came to mind. A choked sob escaped the brunet at the memory of the resulting bill.

_Okay, not G. Lampo wouldn't be helpful in the least. Daemon would purposely mock Kyouya and make him even angrier. Knuckle? No, the only reason Alaude never attacked Knuckle is because he's respectful enough not to hit a priest. There's no guarantee that he'll be a priest in this life…or if he's even old enough to become a priest. So, that leaves Ugetsu. _

_That's right. If I recall correctly, Ugetsu was the only one who could calm Alaude down without causing any structural damage. Actually, Ugetsu was the only one patient enough to successfully deal with Alaude. Even Knuckle got frustrated after a while._

_Alright, so I need to find the reincarnated Ugetsu._

Tsuna's mind went blank before he went back to crying mental tears.

_How do I do that? _Dio_, I just want to find my Rain Guardian before Mom catches wind of all my injuries. Is that really too much to ask?_

Two days later, Tsuna was knocked unconscious via a baseball to the head.

"Whoa! Hey, are you okay? Hello?" The baseball player rolled the unconscious boy onto his back. "…Giotto?"

~X~

A/N: Just to make things clear, during Tsuna's thought process at the end, he's differentiating between the past and present Alaude/Hibari not using the names interchangeably. And if anyone was confused there was a time skip between the first and second section. About…five years?

I wonder if I'm being a little too mean to poor Tsuna. Well, at least Yamamoto showed up. The next chapter will focus on him and Tsuna.

Unfortunately, I'm going on vacation to visit family for a while, so I won't have time to write. Thus, there won't be a new chapter until I get back home…in a month or so. Sorry~


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Footsteps of Time

Pairing: None

Genre: Humor, Family, Friendship

Warnings: some parts get ridiculously sappy (you have been warned)

Rating: K+

Summary: A few hundred years after his death, Giotto finds himself reincarnated as Sawada Tsunayoshi and discovers second chances as he is reunited with his past Guardians.

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or its characters.

A/N: Someone mentioned to me that Tsuna uses Hibari's given name but not Yamamoto's. I don't know why I never really noticed, so i went back and changed as needed. Thank you to the person who pointed that out to me.

~X~

_The aloof Cloud drifts by, bringing the gentle Rain to wash away past sorrows._

**1.**

The jackhammers woke him.

Well, he supposed there were many other things ripping and tearing and exploding in his skull, but the jackhammers were the most insistent. Spiked tonfas weren't out of the question, either. Nor was a telephone…or ten since he could hear a constant annoying ringing in his ears.

Really, he wouldn't even be surprised if he opened his eyes to find crazy, old Talbot sawing his poor head open to examine any possible connections between the brain and the Dying Will Flame.

Hmm…on second thought, maybe the old coot would be the one to figure out how his head could catch on fire without causing any self-injuries.

"Oh! You're awake!"

He cringed at the sudden, vicious assault upon his sensitive ears. _Oh holy hell, how wasted was I last night? What did G. give me? _

Cautiously cracking his eyes open, he somewhat made out a blurry figure hovering over him. An awfully familiar, dark-haired blur. His mind slowly whirred back to life as he tried to figure out who it was.

Black hair, cut short and spiked up. Tall. _Feeling nauseous_. Hovering. Loud. _Jackhammers still going strong_. _Oh, dear god, please tell me there won't be any repair bills_.

He shuddered at the last thought. "What did you do to your hair, G.?"

The reply was an amused snort. "I'm not G. Maybe I should have taken you to a hospital."

Ah, the lowered voice was no longer grating on his senses. And what a familiar voice it was. Young but still recognizable - had he been in his right state of mind.

"Knuckle?"

The familiar blur sighed and leaned closer.

He could finally make out the features of the person's face, one that was far too young to belong to his Rain Guardian.

A Rain Guardian that should not be hovering over him because everyone dear to him had died four hundred years ago.

_Oh, that's right. I'm not Giotto anymore. This person cannot be… I'm…no, this person is just a lookalike. But still…what if…_

"Ugetsu?"

The other boy smiled brightly, eyes filled with a nostalgic warmth. "It's been a while, Giotto, and I go by Yamamoto Takeshi now. You?"

"…Sawada Tsunayoshi." It seemed Ugetsu, no…Yamamoto now, still had quite the infectious smile because Tsuna couldn't help but grin back at his former Rain Guardian despite the massive headache tearing apart his skull. "But call me Tsuna."

~X~

**2.**

Tsuna quickly forgave and - tried to - forget the whole baseball-to-the-head incident.

He found it was hard to hold a grudge against the baseball player and his cheerful smiles, so he gave up the effort. Concussions were commonplace enough in their last life, and Tsuna wasn't about to dwell on an accident.

The headache, though, would have to go. Tsuna rubbed his temple in some far gone hope of getting rid of the irritating pain since the aspirin he took had yet to take effect.

Still, he decided to go home before his mother started to worry. He had walked home with various bruises before – many caused by a certain pair of tonfa – but Yamamoto insisted on coming along with him.

"Just in case," the taller boy said. "I wouldn't want you to be alone if you suddenly forgot where you lived because you took a baseball to your head. And since it was my fault, I'll walk you home!"

As they walked, Yamamoto chattered about baseball while Tsuna listened with a small smile. The brunet had to fight back a laugh whenever the taller boy inserted random noises in place of words.

_He's still the same_, Tsuna thought fondly. _He did this in the past, too. When it comes to things like music and his swords, Ugetsu always has a hard time putting his feelings into words, so he randomly starts substituting in noises. Of course, no one could ever understand his explanations._

"And hitting home runs are always amazing! You swing the bat guut guut~ and then it hits the ball with a bababan~"

Stifling a laugh, Tsuna asked, "You really like baseball, don't you, Takeshi?"

"Haha~ Baseball is the best!"

_That's good_. Tsuna glanced up at the darkening sky. _You don't need to give up your dreams for me. Not this time._

~X~

**3.**

"Hey, Tsuna!"

Tsuna froze, eyes frantically darting around before he deemed the current area safe. "H-Hey, Takeshi."

"Are you free today?"

"Huh?" The brunet finally looked at the taller boy.

Yamamoto's grin was probably bright enough to light up all of Namimori for a few days. "Do you remember that dojo I told you about, the one my family owns?"

Tsuna thought back to their previous conversations. "Uh, yeah. The one your dad used to train in, right?"

"Yup~ I asked my old man, and he said it's alright to show you inside. So, do you have time today?"

Danger momentarily forgotten, Tsuna quickly agreed. "Yeah! I'm free right now. Your dad's really nice, Takeshi."

Yamamoto laughed and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually, you're the first friend I've ever brought home. I think my old man approves of you."

"Hm. You really think so…?" Tsuna trailed of when he caught sight of something shiny flying towards him. It took a moment for him to recognize what it was, then another to grab Yamamoto's collar before ducking and dragging the taller boy down with him.

A split second later, there was a sharp ring of metal hitting brick and a loud cracking sound. Despite not really wanting to, Tsuna glanced behind them and paled when he saw a tonfa half-buried in the brick wall.

"Whoa! What was that?"

Tsuna quickly scrambled to his feet, hand still fisted in Yamamoto's collar. He could feel the murderous intent coming closer from the right. "We need to go. _Now_!"

Without another word, the brunet took off running, well aware that he was dragging a confused Yamamoto along with him.

"Hey, isn't that…"

Tsuna ducked into a side street. "Yeah, that's Alaude. He goes by Hibari Kyouya now."

Yamamoto, who finally managed to pry Tsuna's hand from his collar, easily kept up alongside the half-panicked brunet and asked, "Why are we running from him?"

"I said something to him, and Kyouya took it a little too seriously." When Takezushi came into view, Tsuna could have cried in relief. _I seriously need to stop making jokes about Kyouya's biting catchphrase._

~X~

After catching their breaths and greeting the sushi chef, Yamamoto led the way to the dojo. He pushed open the shoji door and spread his arms. "Welcome to Asari-gumi!"

Tsuna whispered, "Asari-gumi?"

"Yup. This is the original dojo I opened after you stepped down as Vongola Primo." Yamamoto rested his hand on the old wooden wall, surveying the room filled with old memories and old regrets. "I took two students and taught them my sword style. Do you remember, Tsuna? When we were in Italy, I tried to make up a name for my style but I couldn't decide on one."

Tsuna closed his eyes and answered, "Yeah. You changed your mind almost daily and it drove G. crazy."

Yamamoto somberly continued. "Shigure Soen Ryu. Both the legacy I passed on to my students and the legacy I will soon inherit from my old man." When Tsuna didn't respond, he laughed. "Haha~ It's confusing, isn't it? Whenever I think about this, I always get a headache."

"There's no need to compare this life to the past. Whatever happened back then doesn't matter anymore. " Tsuna smiled. "It's a good name, Takeshi. Are you planning on taking up a sword again?"

"Yeah. My old man's been waiting to teach me. Did you know? Shigure Soen Ryu has eight forms now. Eight!" Yamamoto obviously took great pride in that. "I only taught my students the basics and one form, before I told them to make what they would out of it. My old man laughed at the face I made when he told me there were eight forms. _And_, Shigure Kintoki is still around, too. You know, the bamboo sword specifically made for my style. "

"What about baseball?" Tsuna didn't want to ruin Yamamoto's good mood, but the way the taller boy spoke about Shigure Soen Ryu…

Yamamoto paused at the abrupt question, surprised. "I know my style will be forgotten one day, but I won't let it end here with me. As for baseball…" He went to pick up the wooden bat in the corner of the room. "Check this out!"

He didn't waste any time in swinging the bat.

A sudden sound much like a sword being unsheathed and Tsuna was staring at a gleaming katana instead of a wooden baseball bat. "W-W-What is _that_?"

"It's a katana," Yamamoto said matter-of-factly.

Something seemed to have disconnected in Tsuna's head as he stared at the other boy and stammered, "Wood…sword…but…the bat…"

"Yeah, it's a baseball bat," Yamamoto said matter-of-factly (again, as though he didn't just break several or more rules of physics). He lowered the sword and it changed back to a bat. "See?"

"W-Where did you get that?"

"My old man gave it to me. He said that since I couldn't decide between the sword and baseball, I should just carry both with me."

"What kind of logic is that?" Tsuna couldn't believe what he was hearing. _First Kyouya and his tonfa and now Takeshi and his weird baseball bat/katana hybrid weapon. Is this what normal parents are supposed to give to their children?_

"Haha~ You're making a funny face, Tsuna." Yamamoto watched his former Boss and remembered a time when he sold his beloved flute to buy four irregular swords.

"_Ugetsu, where is your flute?"_

"_I sold it to buy these swords."_

"…_Why? Why would you sell something so precious to you?"_

"_You are my dear friend, Giotto, and I would sell a hundred flutes over if that would help me protect this Family you created."_

_"…"_

A month later, Asari Ugetsu found a box sitting innocently on his bed. Inside was a beautifully hand-crafted flute.

When he asked, Giotto merely answered, _"I am quite partial to your music, Ugetsu. It would be a pity if I never heard you play the flute again."_

Yamamoto Takeshi smiled in fond remembrance. "I would do it again in a heartbeat."

"What?"

"If you become a Mafia Boss again, Tsuna, I wouldn't mind giving up baseball for you. That's what friends do, right?"

Tsuna had no idea what to say. Out of all his Guardians, Ugetsu was the one who sacrificed the most to join Vongola. He didn't want to see his friend give up his dream a second time. "Then there's nothing to worry about because I'm not going to be a Mafia Boss this time around. I'm kind of attached to this normal life."

"Haha~ Guess so. But, you never know. It might happen one day."

The brunet entertained a thought. "Hey, Takeshi, can you promise me something?"

"What is it?"

"If I don't become a Mafia Boss, then promise you won't ever sacrifice your dreams. If you want to keep playing baseball, then try as hard as you can to make it to the Major Leagues. If you want to succeed your father as a sushi chef, then become the best sushi chef Namimori has ever seen. And if you want to continue this dojo, then I expect you to pass on Shigure Soen Ryu and keep your sword style alive for however many more generations. No matter what you choose to do, I'll cheer you on, so promise you won't ever give up."

The serious look on Tsuna's face called to something in Yamamoto. He had no idea what it was, but it was something that would later prompt an Arcobaleno to call him a natural born hit man. Yamamoto answered just as seriously as Tsuna, "I'll promise only if you promise something to me, Tsuna. If you _do_ become a Mafia Boss one day, then promise you won't stop me from giving up my dreams. Don't stop me from putting down my baseball bat and picking up my sword for you."

Tsuna slowly nodded. "I promise."

"Then I promise, too." Nothing would stop him from standing behind his Boss. He knew Tsuna didn't understand why he would sacrifice so much for him, and Yamamoto was fine with that. Tsuna didn't need to understand how deeply he treasured their friendship.

It was the reason why he kept quiet about the box safely stored in his closet, a box containing a beautifully hand-crafted flute.

_Maybe one day, I'll play for him again._

~X~

_The Sun appears, a bright star to light the way._

**4.**

"-EEEEEEMEEEE!"

Tsuna growled at the obnoxiously loud voice outside. Forcing his eyes open to look at the time, the brunet groaned and rolled over. Five in the morning was an ungodly hour to be awake. The nutcase out there needed to _shut up_!

It reminded him of someone familiar, but his sleep-deprived mind couldn't pull up a name or face. Mumbling curses to himself, Tsuna tried to muffle the noise with his pillow. If this didn't work, he was going to go out there and strangle the inconsiderate ingrate who dared to disturb his precious sleep.

Even Daemon didn't dare to interrupt Vongola Primo's sleep, barring _extreme_ emergencies.

Extreme? Why did that sound so familiar?

Tsuna slowly drifted back to sleep, forgetting his wandering thoughts of boxing and priests and extreme.

~X~

_Except…_

Two and a half hours later, Tsuna rolled out of bed running. If he didn't leave within the next five minutes, he was going to be late.

As he rushed downstairs, Tsuna glanced up from buttoning his shirt just in time to avoid colliding with the figure standing at the bottom of the stairwell. "Jeez, don't stand there! Who are you, anyway?"

"Ciaossu. I'm the home tutor, Reborn." The baby tilted his fedora up and smirked. Smirked!

Sawada Nana chose that time to peek out from the kitchen. "Oh, Tsuna! Guess what!"

_It was the wrong Sun._

~X~

A/N: Sorry for taking so long to get this up. This semester has been crazy busy and next semester is going to be even worse since I have to do graduate school applications. Ugh, life sucks. Basically, I have no idea when I can post again.

This chapter probably isn't very funny, but I did the best I could. Somehow, the semi-angst keeps showing up and I don't know why. So, I'm sorry to those who like crack-ish things happening.

But, Yamamoto has arrived! And he brings another dangerous weapon into the mix! This will probably become a running gag in the fic. Adults allowing (sometimes even encouraging) children and teens to carry deadly weapons (and in some cases, weapons of mass destruction) around.

Next chapter will be about Reborn and the chaos he brings. I think the part of this fic I've been anxiously waiting to write is G.'s appearance. Unfortunately, that's not for a little while longer.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Footsteps of Time

Pairing: None

Genre: Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort

Warnings: some parts get a little dark and some parts are just plain crack (no idea what I was thinking at that time)

Rating: K+

Summary: A few hundred years after his death, Giotto finds himself reincarnated as Sawada Tsunayoshi and discovers second chances as he is reunited with his past Guardians.

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or its characters.

IMPORTANT A/N: I've changed the genre to Family/Friendship because of this chapter. I'm not sure why, but this chapter fluctuates several times between humorous/cracky and dark/semi-angsty. You can definitely tell that I wrote different parts at different times. I also don't know why the chapters keep getting longer.

~X~

**1.**

"Mom, I don't need a tutor!" Honestly, he had been arguing with his mother over this issue for the past ten minutes, but Nana stayed firm in her decision. How his mother could keep coming up with good reasons to let the smirking baby stay was beyond him. Tsuna, himself, had run out of arguments a good three minutes ago. "I promise to make better grades! I'll study more!"

Nana remained unconvinced. "But, Tsu-kun, Reborn is already here and it'll be terribly rude of us to send him away so soon."

At this point, Tsuna began to somewhat regret faking his No Good reputation.

It wasn't that he hated the thought of having a tutor. In fact, it would probably make his No Good Tsuna act that much more realistic. No, the tutor part didn't bother him.

It was that baby.

There was seriously something off about that kid, something too…dark…too old. Tsuna could see it in those black eyes and the sly expression. Children should not have such an odd air about them.

Like an adult trapped in a child's body.

Tsuna knew what it was like to remember - an adult's height, an adult's voice, an adult's _authority_ – while stuck in a five-year-old body. The sudden rush of a lifetime of memories had the same effect as a sledgehammer on his then five-year-old brain. But more than the horrible migraine from remembering everything, the disconnect between mind and body left him disoriented for days (_who am I? Giotto? Tsunayoshi? Which is it?)_, during which his mother nervously fussed over him. But, those few days were nothing compared to what came afterwards.

His mind remembered how to walk and move with grace – always prepared to slip into a fighting stance – but his body lacked the proper muscle memory. Merely walking across his room became a challenge as he constantly stumbled and tripped over his own feet. Even writing became a difficult chore. For nearly a month, his handwriting was plain illegible as his hands and fingers moved erratically, torn between writing in a childish scrawl and an elegant cursive – developed over years of signing documents.

To him, those first few months had been a personal hell.

It had probably been the same for Kyouya and Yamamoto, too, though he never gathered enough courage to ask them about their time of personal weakness. Some things were best left alone – because no one wanted to remember or speak of being completely helpless after a lifetime of being leaders in their own rights.

And so, Tsuna had no desire to get involved with this Reborn person. Whatever secrets this child brought to Namimori needed to leave, along with that yellow pacifier. He'd seen a similar pacifier in his past life (_a clear one_, his mind insistently whispered, _and Cozarto and deals and his Mist's betrayal),_ and Tsuna wanted nothing to do with those people again (_Vindice and shackling chains and shadows deep in the cruel Mafia underworld)_.

"Mom…"

Nana sighed and shook her head. "Reborn is staying. And, Tsu-kun, you're late."

"Eh?" Tsuna paused his protest to glance at the clock. Eyes widening at the time, the brunet panicked and hastily grabbed his bag. "I'm late! Kyouya's going to kill me!"

This conversation would have to wait for later. He pushed those darker memories back – the past had no place in the present. Avoiding the Disciplinary Committee's punishment took precedence.

His mother cheerfully saw him off before she turned to Reborn and said, "That Tsuna…he's so hopeless." She laughed to herself. "Tsu-kun is a good boy, so take good care of him, Reborn-kun."

The infant, who had been quiet during the contest of will between mother and son – Nana won, naturally – finally spoke. "Don't worry. I'll be sure to raise him into the leader of the new generation."

"Ah, that sounds nice."

Nana never saw Reborn's innocent smile morph into a mischevous smirk.

~X~

By the time Namimori Middle School came into view, Tsuna felt as though he just ran a marathon. _Almost there! I can make it._

He could see Kyouya leaning against the gate and much like a hawk, the older boy's eyes zeroed in on him.

_Okay, the animal metaphor is not helping!_ Tsuna suppressed a shiver and put on a burst of speed. Just a few more yards and he would be home free.

Tsuna was so intent on reaching the gate that he didn't notice the other boy move, but he definitely felt it when a black shoe made a perfect imprint on his face. He hit the ground inches from the gate.

And of course, the bell just had to choose that moment to ring.

"You're late, herbivore. Detention."

Tsuna could hear the smugness in Kyouya's voice and wondered if running away now would be worth the agonizing pain later. Probably not. Groaning, he rolled over onto his back and stared up at the Disciplinary Chairman. "You kicked me."

The dark-haired boy raised a brow almost mockingly. "And? You're still late."

Knowing there was no arguing with Kyouya, the brunet gave in with a sigh, "What do I have to do? Clean up the gym after school?"

"No." Kyouya gave him an evil smirk. "I have something else in mind. In fact, you'll be excused from your classes today."

Tsuna tensed as his hyper intuition started blaring _DANGER! BEWARE! DANGER!_ "Hey, Kyouya, this isn't what I think it is…right?"

The older boy shrugged and said, "I need an…assistant in the office today."

Throwing caution to the wind, Tsuna tried to make a run for it. He'd take the agonizing pain over what was waiting in the Reception Room any day. Unfortunately before he could get very far, a hand roughly grabbed the back of his collar and began dragging him, kicking and screaming bloody murder, onto school grounds.

"No! Wait, Kyouya, anything but _THAT_!"

"You're too noisy, herbivore. Stop screaming before I bite you to death."

"Then bite me to death! Just don't make me go into the Reception Room! _NOOOO_!"

~X~

Reborn watched with great amusement as his newest charge stumbled into the bedroom and promptly collapsed into bed without a sound. He'd spent the entire day gathering information about Namimori, so that left him uninformed about his student's day. Well, he'd just ask around tomorrow.

What a pity. Reborn had been planning on telling Tsuna the real reason why he came to Namimori, but by the looks of things, Tsuna probably wouldn't react much to the news. Tormenting someone in a near-comatose state wouldn't be any fun. That would have to wait until tomorrow as well.

Meanwhile, unaware of Reborn's plans for him, Tsuna's head was spinning. He spent the entire day doing Kyouya's paperwork while said boy leisurely took a nap on the couch. _Damage reports, repair bills, requests for funding from the Science Department, repair bills, requests for funding clubs, repair bills, damage reports, REPAIR BILLS! What the hell, Kyouya! At _least_ 80 percent of all the damages were caused by you! If you love Namimori Middle so much, then stop destroying it! _

Sometime during his inner rant, Tsuna fell into a restless sleep filled with nightmares about stacks of repair bills threatening to fall onto him and crush him under the sheer weight.

~X~

**2.**

"Excuse me, but could you repeat that? I think I heard you wrong."

"You're the Vongola Family's Tenth Generation Boss. The Ninth requested that I come here to train you to become a worthy Mafia Boss."

"…" This was not something Tsuna wanted to hear first thing in the morning. The fact that he was hearing this from that baby only made everything seem even worse. Sure, it was surprising that the Vongola Family lasted so long, but Tsuna did _not_ want to be a Mafia Boss - not even for the Vongola Family. So, he did the only thing he could think of to get out of this.

Deny everything.

Feign ignorance.

"Ha ha. Very funny," Tsuna deadpanned. "Not the best joke I've ever heard, but the shock factor is good. Now, if you'll excuse me, Reborn, I'll be going to school now. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but I don't need your services as a home tutor despite what my mother says, so please leave as soon as possible."

"This isn't a joke, Dame-Tsuna. Take a look at this." Reborn shoved a yellowed piece of paper into the brunet's face. "The Vongola Family's first Boss retired and moved to Japan. He's your great, great, great grandfather. In other words, you inherited the Vongola Blood, thus you are a legitimate candidate to become the Tenth Boss."

Tsuna grabbed the paper and studied it with growing horror. The reality was staring at him straight in the face.

Dropping the paper, Tsuna abruptly stood and made a dash towards the door. "I have to go to school!"

"Hmph. He really is Dame-Tsuna." Reborn smirked and watched from the window as the panicked boy ran down the street. "He forgot his shoes."

~X~

"Kyouya!"

The older boy raised a brow at the panicking, shoeless brunet running past a few startled herbivores. "Sawada Tsunayoshi. You have some nerve to raise your voice to me. And to refer to me so familiarly, I'll bite—"

"I JUST FOUND OUT THAT I'M RELATED TO MYSELF!"

The Disciplinary Committee Chairman stopped and slowly processed the odd exclamation. "…What?"

"I'm related to myself! How could I not see it before? I'm in Japan! I look into the mirror every day, yet I couldn't see it until now!" The brunet's eyes suddenly focused on the older boy, as though seeing him for the first time. "Kyouya! What do I do?"

The prefect had never been one to back away from anything, in this life or the one before, but staring into the wild eyes of Sawada Tsunayoshi – who obviously had some sort of traumatic epiphany – he suddenly had the feeling that being on the other side of the school would be to his best interest. There was always some herbivore doing _something_ against school rules behind the gym, and now would be the best time to enforce some discipline. _Away_ from the distressed boy currently spouting nonsense and staring at him with wide, bloodshot eyes.

"Yo! What's going on?"

Seeing an opportunity for escape, Hibari tossed the brunet at the baseball player. "You, deal with this." With that said, he stalked away. Calming down hysterical herbivores was more the Rain's territory, anyway.

~X~

After taking the brunet somewhere secluded, the baseball player was at a loss of what to do.

"Uh…" Yamamoto worriedly watched as Tsuna mumbled incoherently to himself. "You alright there, Tsuna? Did something happen?"

"Oh, it's nothing much, Takeshi." Tsuna nervously waved his hand around and continued, "You know, normal things like a little baby, who probably isn't really a baby, showing up and suddenly dropping a bomb on me. Haha I'm fine. Perfectly fine. I mean, you would be too, right, if you suddenly found out that you're related to yourself and that you suddenly inherited the very thing you created."

The brunet stopped and replayed what he said. "Oh, I guess you do know the feeling."

Yamamoto, who had somewhat pieced together the clues, slowly nodded. "I guess so. You shouldn't think too hard about it, though." He grinned good-naturedly. "So, care to explain? You were rambling a lot."

"It seems I'm a legitimate candidate to inherit the Tenth Generation Vongola Family." Tsuna wanted to laugh at the irony. Inheriting something you created. He hadn't really understood back then when Takeshi told him about Shigure Soen Ryu, but now that he was in a similar position…

He leaned back against the wall and slid down until he was sitting. Dropping his head into his hands, he muttered, "I don't want to be a Mafia Boss."

Yamamoto sat down next to him and placed his hands behind his head to stare up at the sky. "Shouldn't there be other candidates?"

"There were but apparently, all of them died horrible, mysterious deaths."

"Huh. Weird. What are you going to do, Tsuna?"

The brunet sighed and raised his head. "I'm going to play dumb. Maybe I'll be able to convince Reborn that I'm not a suitable candidate. I'll have to step up my No Good Tsuna act a notch."

"Haha~ Sounds interesting. It's like a game! Maybe I'll play, too."

~X~

Yamamoto silently watched as Tsuna dazedly wandered back towards their classroom. Once the brunet was out of sight and hearing, the baseball player casually leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed and asked quietly, "Did you hear everything, Hibari?"

"Hn." The prefect, who was in a similar position around the corner, intoned dully, "As he is now, the herbivore can't defend himself properly. He can't even call his flames."

"You think other Families might send assassins?"

Hibari frowned slightly at Yamamoto's question. "I will not allow Namimori to be tainted."

The baseball player could only chuckle at the typical response. "Well then, you take care of any unwanted visitors and I'll watch over Tsuna."

"Hn."

They went their separate ways and let their grim expressions melt into their usual masks, one a happy, clueless grin and the other a cold, cruel glare.

~X~

**3.**

The entire fiasco began innocently enough.

After failing to chase Reborn out of his home (again) and having his breakfast stolen on top of that, Tsuna sighed and began trudging to school.

Of course, being the pain in the neck he proudly was, Reborn decided to (innocently) tag along to observe his newest prey in its natural habitat.

Tsuna cursed his luck and wracked his brain for a way to (innocently) show off his No Good traits. _Should I trip? Would that look planned? Maybe walk into a wall? Hm? What's that? Oh, it's just a Chihuahua._ The brunet stifled another sigh before that last thought caught up with him. A _Chihuahua…? Would No Good Tsuna be afraid of a little yapping dog? Well, it's better than nothing._

"Why are you following me?" Tsuna allowed an exasperated expression to form on his face while surreptitiously glancing at the fuzzy tail poking out from under the gate. He felt a little bad for the oblivious dog, but this was his future on the line. "Don't you have anything better to do? You know, baby things?"

"I'm here to be your tutor and turn you into a good Boss for the Family."

After a last quick calculation, he scowled up at the smug baby with a snippy retort ("I don't want to be a Mafia Boss!") as he stomped his foot down in a show of frustrated temper. Right onto the dog's poor tail. Tsuna easily slipped into the No Good Tsuna role and made a right fool of himself – shaking and stumbling and finally falling onto his backside – as the dog snarled and pushed open the gate.

At first, Tsuna was wary that he'd been a little too obvious, but once Reborn began mocking him, he breathed a mental sigh of relief. Then something happened that tossed his effort straight out the window.

Sasagawa Kyoko arrived in all her sparkly glory – though she was the only one who didn't know about the ever-present sparkles.

Then, she saw Reborn – a cute (innocent) baby in an adorable suit, complete with a stylish fedora hat – and her sparkles increased to an almost frightening degree.

Tsuna didn't know whether to smile fondly at Kyoko's love of all cute things – evil, smirking babies included, apparently – or scream in frustration as his brilliant plan burst into a pile of flames, leaving only pathetic ashes in its wake. A bit dramatic perhaps, but Tsuna was annoyed that his superb acting was for nothing.

And, he now felt guilty for stepping on that dog's tail.

Kyoko smiled (innocently) up at him from where she was kneeling to talk to Reborn, and Tsuna knew for sure that his plan was ruined.

On average, he normally tripped over his own feet about fifteen times, tripped over tiny cracks about eight times, ran into walls two times, and stuttered every single time a teacher called on him. All in one day. All of which happened during school hours and within the school campus. Often during gym class.

As far as Kyoko knew, all his No Good traits only appeared in school. If he started tripping all over the place before they even got to Nami Middle, Kyoko would become worried. Then, Tsuna would feel terrible for making her worried. Then, Kurokawa Hana would give him the evil eyes for the rest of the week…which would make Kyoko feel bad for him…which would make Tsuna feel even worse…and so on and so forth in a never-ending cycle of misery.

Tsuna paused in his thoughts. _Yeah…definitely too dramatic. Hana's sly enough to glare at me only when Kyoko's not looking._

Still, he didn't want the school idol to worry over nothing.

"Well, I don't want to be late so see you later, little boy. You too, Tsuna-kun."

_Huh? She's leaving? She's leaving!_ Tsuna distractedly smiled and waved back at her, not registering the fact that he should get going as well before a certain prefect shoved more paperwork at him. _Should I walk into a wall now?_

"Tsuna, you have a crush on that girl, don't you?"

Tsuna mumbled something incoherent before he realized what the baby just asked. _What? Crush? On Kyoko? What is he talking about?_

There was one thing Tsuna was absolutely sure about, and it was that he did not have romantic feelings for Sasagawa Kyoko. He admired her personality and generally optimistic view of life, but he did not view her in a romantic light – or entertain any thoughts or feelings leaning in _that_ direction. Despite his outward appearance, Tsuna was still a grown man inside and thinking of Kyoko as anything other than a kind friend made him feel like a dirty, old pervert.

While it was true that the school idol reminded him somewhat of his wife – from his former life – any affection he felt towards Kyoko remained strictly platonic.

Really, the only reason Tsuna knew her was because she had been the only one – aside from Kyouya and Takeshi – to treat him kindly. She never called him No Good Tsuna, and she never looked down on him for his dismal grades. Her acceptance gave him a nostalgic feeling.

Long ago after he stepped down as Vongola Primo, he settled down in Japan in a small sleepy village. At that time, though, outsiders were not well liked, and his blond hair, orange eyes and fair skin marked him as not only an outsider but a foreigner as well. The villagers didn't chase him out, but they made sure that he knew he was not welcome in their village.

The only person who didn't treat his features like a stigma was a young woman serving as the village's doctor. She was kind and well-loved in the small community, and she treated him as she treated any one of the other villagers. It was only due to her unconditional acceptance that the close-knit villagers began to trust him and eventually accept him as one of their own. She later agreed to become his wife, and he took a new name – Ieyasu – to symbolize the beginning of a new life as the village celebrated.

Tsuna smiled as the memories washed over him. _I miss them._

Reborn, on the other hand, connected all the wrong dots – since he wasn't privy to Tsuna's walk down memory lane. He mentioned a crush on the girl and his new student smiled dreamily. Therefore…

The miniature hit man smirked as Leon changed into the familiar shape of a gun. "I suppose it's time. Die now."

Tsuna came back to the present in time to hear the last two words. "Huh?" He blinked at the green gun. _Is that a toy?_

"You'll understand if you die."

Reborn pulled the trigger.

Tsuna's world turned a dreamlike red. _Blood? Death? I'm dying…and I never thanked Kyoko for her kindness, for just being herself…_

Then, something familiar flickered. Bright and orange and warm and so familiar, an old friend finally waking up after a long, long sleep. Tsuna hazily grasped for it to welcome it back, but the waves of warmth pulled away, shuddered and broke free. An intense inferno of resolve and will and _I cannot die yet. I _will not_ die yet._

Later, Tsuna returned to himself, half giddy from his uncontrolled flames – slowly ebbing away and returning to sleep to allow the memories to slowly seep in – and half horrified at the frightened expression on Kyoko's face as she turned and fled from her own embarrassment.

Tsuna couldn't care less that other students were laughing at him, pointing and mocking like children were prone to do. All he could focus on was the heavy guilt and gut-wrenching shame because inadvertent as it was, he had just hurt one of his dear friends.

He didn't acknowledge the baby lightly landing and placing a new set of clothes next to him, sharp eyes watching and calculating the odd development.

Tsuna felt numb – disconnected – and he couldn't push away the image of Kyoko's face before she ran. _She was about to cry._

He barely noticed the students scattering as Kyouya approached, eyes dark and furious – promising pain for both the disruption of the peace and the fact that someone, some _worthless herbivore_ had dared to strike (emotional or not, it was still an injury, especially for the soft-hearted herbivore) at the only person he had ever acknowledged as a competent leader, and at certain times, _his_ leader.

Absently picking up the new uniform, Tsuna – with eyes shadowed by his unruly hair – stumbled towards the school building, whispering a soft apology as he passed the silently fuming prefect. Tsuna was so lost in thought that he never noticed Kyouya's dark gaze lock challengingly with Reborn's sly one or the somber brown eyes watching everything play out from a second floor window, lingering for a moment to take in the tension between prefect and hit man before turning away to go comfort his friend – he was the Rain, after all, the one who washed away the Sky's sorrow.

~X~

A/N: Yay, another author's note. Sorry for ending on a darkish note. Originally, Ryohei was supposed to show up at the end, but it was a little too light-hearted to really fit in. So, Ryohei will officially appear in all his extremeness next chapter.

Giotto's Past: Since we don't know anything about what Primo did after he moved to Japan (except he changed his name and started a family), I made up something I thought was passably believable. What do you think?

And finally about where this fic is going. Once all the important characters show up, I'm going to skip a lot of canon parts. I think I'll skim quickly through the Ring Battles and only touch on the Future arc so that I can get to the Inheritance arc/Simon Family where the Primo Family having their memories will add to the chaos and confusion.


End file.
